To be a high achiever, always work on something important, using it as a way to avoid doing something that’s even more important.
— John Perry
Copywriting tips to drive up sales →
Copywriting for Products:
1) Hit them at the heart:
“a skilled copywriter will paint a picture of what life will be like when you buy the featured product.”
2) Talk benefits not features:
“A great way to convert features to benefits is to play the ‘so what?’ game.”
3) Use dynamic language:
“Replace dull, passive words with exciting, dynamic alternatives to draw readers into your copy.”
4) You don’t have to keep it short – just keep it relevant.
Speak less
10 immutable laws of mistakes →
- Everyone makes mistakes
- Not all mistakes are bad mistakes
- Mistakes not seen by others are not mistakes
- Ignorance does not excuse your mistakes
- Mistakes occur at the very worst time
- Mistakes beget mistakes
- Mistakes made with computers propagate faster and cause more damage
- Mistakes of inaction are mistakes nonetheless
- Failing to own up to your mistakes is a mistake
- Failing to learn from your mistakes is a mistake
On Manipulation
Robert Chowdini’s principles of Manipulation:
1. Reciprocity.
An example Chowdini gave was that a waiter can significantly increase the size of a tip by giving something to the customer immediately before they pay the bill. Eg. a dinner mint. A study found that if they gave one mint (per person on the table) the waiter received a 3.3% tip, if they give 2 mints per person the tips jumped to 14.4%.
2. Consensis.
The idea that if a lot of other people are doing something, it must be the right thing to do.
3. Authority
A study in the US found that if someone dressed as a security guard and walked up to people on the street, in general, they would do what he asked. You find people doing silly things, because someone in a uniform has directed them to do it.
4. Commitment
If you can get someone to take a small but public stand on a topic, you’re more likely to get them to take a greater stance on an issue.
A study in Israel shows that if you could get someone to sign a partition, if you came back 2 weeks later and asked for a donation, they would be twice as likely to donate.
5. Scarcity
If you create a real or fake sense of scarcity… Eg. iPads, iPhones and so on, that’s why you see lines of people outside Apple Stores.
6. Attraction
Eg. the attractive young woman standing next to an automobile make the car more attractive.
Mike Cannon-Brookes on Scaling Problems
The Model Itself
- Do software companies scale?
- Know really really well what doesn’t scale in your model
- Software = Support / Sales
- Invest in simple, installable, supportable, documented, quality product
Simple != Simplified
- Beware of scaling too fast (eg “the US Question”)
- Build the right product not the first product
- Did we build anything new?
- Keep it simple … as long as possible (eg OEM, pro services, training?)
- Invest in IT Systems early.
Marketing
- First - word of mouth scales
- … so make a damn good product to start
- … and make it attractive!
- Google Adwords
- Trust is hard to scale, show customer lists, show testimonials etc
- Beware low touch - ship a t-shirt!
People
- Hiring is really hard
Innovation
- Workout which are the normal things to do.
- Workout what the innovating things are.
